Post News Network
Cuttack, Sept 24: Doctors at Sriram Chandra Bhanj Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) have allegedly shown reluctance to operate on two patients found HIV+ in blood tests.
A driver from Dhenkanal admitted to the neurosurgery department of SCBMCH a month ago said he was denied surgery after he was found HIV positive.
He was admitted at the premier government-run hospital after he felt severe pain in his head and had frequent bouts of vomiting.
Doctors examining his condition decided to operate on his head and preparations were made accordingly.
The patient was asked to tonsure his head before he entered the operation theatre.
However, soon after the patient’s pre-surgery blood test report came, the doctors allegedly refused to carry out the operation because the patient was found infected with HIV. The patient was told that there would be no surgery and he was asked to return home.
Unable to bear the pain, the patient visited the hospital a few days later and requested the doctors to operate on his head. But the doctors turned down his plea and instead prescribed some medicines. “We collected Rs 20,000 for the operation by selling the ornaments we had. We have already spent Rs 18,000 during the last nine days in the hospital. Now the doctors are refusing to carry out the operation,” rued the patient’s wife.
Neurosurgery department professor Sanjeev Kumar Mishra, however, denied the reports that the doctors had refused to operate upon the patient after he was found infected with HIV. “The patient concerned is suffering from hydrocephalus, which can be cured through operation. An operation is not advised presently because of the presence of a high amount of protein in the patient’s head,” he said.
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which fluid accumulates in the brain, enlarging the head and sometimes causing brain damage.
In another incident, a driver from Bihar with multiple fractures in his legs and hands was admitted to the orthopaedic department of the hospital a few months ago.
Doctors had shown their reluctance in operating upon him after he tested HIV positive. Doctors at SCBMCH, however, denied that the patient’s HIV status was a reason behind a decision on conducting surgery.
